On February 20, the Japan Office of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation and Nakasone Peace Institute (NPI) jointly organized a seminar on “Economic Security: A German Perspective”. The seminar was held following the MoU signed last December between NPI and KAS to strengthen cooperation in the field of economic security and was attended by Japanese Diet members and government and ministry officials.  

Following the introduction and opening remarks by Rabea Brauer, Country Representative, KAS Japan Office, Hon. Taro Aso, Chairman of NPI, provided a keynote speech. Hon. Aso stated that as major powers, Germany and Japan must take on the responsibility of promoting coordination to ensure the stability and prosperity of the world as a whole. In the face of the international political and economic reality that we cannot proceed with a free economy alone, he stated that how the two countries coordinate with each other in terms of economic security is of great importance to the international community overall. He then recognized that from the basic standpoint of “derisking” in terms of economic security, coordination, cooperation, and partnership among allies and like-minded countries, including the United States, are extremely important and must not be allowed to be disrupted. 

Following the keynote speech, H.E. Dr. Clemens von Goetze, German Ambassador to Japan, outlined the key areas of economic security in Germany in his lecture entitled “Economic Security: A German Perspective.” He pointed out the significance that Germany and Japan share many similarities in their economic structures and challenges and are well suited to cooperate in areas such as technological innovation, supply chain resilience, energy transition, cyber security, and trade. Through platforms such as regular intergovernmental consultations both countries can not only improve their economic security, but also promote sustainable growth and address global challenges. 

The Q&A session with H.E. Dr. von Goetze was moderated by Mr. Shiraishi Shigeaki, Director of the Research Center for Economic Security at NPI, discussing the status of policy achievements toward derisking in Germany, the status of Japan’s policy toward China from the German ambassador’s perspective, differences in perceptions among EU member states concerning economic security, and the German position on a regulation known as the Anti-Coercion Instrument (ACI) recently formulated by the EU.